Pleasure and privilege — perfect harmony

It was my pleasure to witness people coming together to sing under the direction of internationally acclaimed Joshua Habermann at United Church of Santa Fe, which generously provided space for this May 12 event. More than 170 registered participants from the many choral groups in our city were there, as well as people from 12 other cities in New Mexico and nine other states.

Santa Fe Sings! is the long-wished-for brainchild of Lynn Lee, Santa Fe Desert Chorale board member. Kudos to Steve and Jane Hochberg for underwriting this inspiring endeavor for the past three years. And great appreciation to Mary Ferguson and her band of volunteers, as well as Janice Mayer, Santa Fe Desert Chorale executive director, and others.

“Singing is one of the best ways to bring people together and lift up humanity,” David LaPlantz, sexton of United Church of Santa Fe wrote. It was indeed a pleasure and privilege to participate in this year’s event. Pat Thompson

retired Texas music educator Santa Fe

Just vote

Truth means facts; facts mean science; science means nature; nature means life; life means decisions; decisions demand freedom; freedom demands voting; voting supports choices; choices imply probabilities; probabilities suggest compromise; compromise suggests flexibility; flexibility suggests intelligence; intelligence suggests solutions; solutions imply problems; problems include violence; violence includes guns; guns demand safety; safety suggests rules; rules suggest government; government suggests voting; voting suggests politics; politics suggests imperfection; imperfection suggests change; change suggests evolution; evolution suggests fitness; fitness suggests cooperation; cooperation increases strength; strength abhors bullying; bullying requires restraint; government assists restraint; restraint includes prudence; prudence suggests common sense; common sense suggests voting; voting suggests resolution; resolution supports voting; voting means civil rights. Every vote counts; please use this tool. Civil rights are unalienable; 17 year-olds know they will vote! “Your vote makes no difference” is wrong! One vote may mean life and death on this planet. Just vote. Happy polling! Thor Sigstedt

Santa Fe

Thinking for ourselves

Both the left and right pretend to care about free speech until it exposes their lies. Both use identity politics to win pointless battles. All they do is talk about Donald Trump. Both pretend to care about you until it comes time to make policy.

We are tearing each other apart over trending topics while the war machine marches on.

The bombs keep falling on the Middle East no matter who is president. Both sides shut up and support war when it is time.

When is the last time either party has talked about Big Brother or the Dakota Access Pipeline protests still being waged or Yemen?

Did it really make you a sexist, not voting for a woman who voted for the Iraq War?

Does it make you a snowflake if you don’t support Trump’s Muslim ban?

We need to stop letting media tell us how to think. Jared Rodriguez

Santa Fe

Too high

Recent reports of water usage by our mayor, unpaid bills by our former mayor and a $2.7 million write-off of unpaid water bills by the city encouraged me to check my own water bills.

What I notice is that each month, I am billed a residential service charge of $38.67, for the use of the water meter, as far as I can tell. More than half of the bill is the service and not the usage. This is often four or five times the cost of my water consumption.

In 2015, Santa Fe installed 30,000 new water meters at a cost of $6 million, roughly $200 per meter. So, why this charge amounting to $464 a year? Other cities, including Taos and Los Alamos, don’t have such a charge. Why does Santa Fe? No wonder city officials, in times of need, are tempted to siphon money from the Water Division. Bruce Ingram

Santa Fe

Looking to relocate?

A few decades ago, during the summer after my high school graduation, while my friends were preparing to go off to New Mexico universities, I realized that I couldn’t afford to join them.

Instead, I enrolled fulltime in a branch of the Northern New Mexico Community College that was in Santa Fe at the time. I worked to pay for school and to help my parents. Eventually, I transferred to the College of Santa Fe, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Although it has been a while since my college years, I believe the circumstances for many Santa Fe residents are still the same as mine.

Many Santa Fe residents can’t afford to leave or commute to four-year universities for various reasons, including financial and family commitments.

During every statewide or local election, political candidates talk about how our youth and residents are leaving the state or Santa Fe for educational and employment opportunities.

Santa Fe officials have an opportunity to do what’s right for our residents and make it a top priority to keep a four-year college or university in Santa Fe.

Doing this will help to keep our residents in Santa Fe and make our workforce stronger and more appealing to outside companies looking to relocate here. Anthony R. Legits

Santa Fe